Warren W. Wiersbe - On Being a Servant of God

1993, 2007 by Warren W. Wiersbe

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 10.08.2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-0038-9

Warren Wiersbe has written this work in such a personal and passionate fashion that at many times I felt like I was at a fireside chat both as a listener and a convener. This is my storyin fact, this is the story of all who seek to be authentic servants of God in a pseudo-religious world. Those who read it will experience open eyes and burning hearts as they revisit their own personal Emmaus Road.

Robert Smith, Jr., associate professor of divinity,
Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

Every page, indeed nearly every paragraph, of Wiersbes revised edition of On Being a Servant of God contains wisdom and insight for practical ways to be a servant leaderto be a servant of God. As a business executive, Im grateful for Wiersbes straightforward, no-nonsense approach in setting forth the basic principles for bringing the eternal hope of Jesus Christ to those in needbe it in the church or in the marketplace. Business leaders are often wired as take charge, type A personalities, desiring to be in control. Dr. Wiersbe instructs us on how we can relax and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us in building his kingdomwhile giving God the glory.

Bob Milligan, chairman, M. I. Industries;
president, CBMC International

Contents

Foreword

What a blessed day it was when I received my first copy of OnBeing a Servant of God. Warren Wiersbe has written more than a hundred books, but this one stands out in a unique way. Its simplicity and down-to-earth approach to the basics of Christian service made a deep impact on my heart. His definition of what ministry really is should be memorized and meditated on by every pastor, Christian leader, and believer who wants to serve the Lord.

The author has vast experience as both a pastor and a biblical expositor. He wisely draws from both backgrounds in handling topics that very few have approached with such clarity and insight. These nuggets are extremely valuable for everyone who faces the immense challenge of ministering to people in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have purchased and distributed more than a hundred copies of On Being a Servant of God because I wanted other pastors and friends to benefit from this gem of a book. No one who reads this book with an open and prayerful heart can remain the same. In a day when Christian ministry is attacked and challenged in so many ways, God has provided a wonderful source of wisdom to all who will read and then ask God at the throne of grace to become a true servant of God.

Jim Cymbala
Senior Pastor, The Brooklyn Tabernacle

By Way of Introduction

That a new edition of this book is called for is a great encouragement to me. I rejoice that there are believers who want to be servants of God and who are willing to pay the price. I am as fallible as any other human being, but I have done my best to share with you the principles the Lord has taught me. Its been my happy privilege to pastor three churches, teach in the seminary classroom, counsel and pray with a host of Gods servants in different parts of the world, and fellowship with some of Gods choicest servants from whom I have learned much. Such as I have, I give you.

This book is for ministers spelled with a small m as well as for those who are in what we call full-time Christian service, that is, Ministers with a big M. Both are essential to the building of Gods church, and we are all laborers together with the Lord. The Bible knows nothing about lay and clergy. We are all one in Christ and seeking to use our gifts for His glory.

The thirty chats in this book deal with some principles of ministry that I wish somebody had shared with me when I was ordained back in 1951. Christian ministry has never been easy, but it seems to be more difficult today in spite of the sophisticated electronic tools that are available. People are still people and churches are still churches; human nature hasnt changed and the enemy is as deceptive and destructive as ever. There are still problem people and people with problems, and like the beggar at the temple door in Acts 3, they expect to receive something from us. May we not fail them!

Jim Cymbala was very gracious to write the foreword. It has always been thrilling to minister at The Brooklyn Tabernacle and see the power of the Word of God and prayer demonstrated there day after day. Im honored that Jim would endorse this book so enthusiastically. Thank you!

For a more detailed study of Christian ministry, see Ten PowerPrinciples for Christian Service, which I coauthored with my pastor son David, also published by Baker.

May you have much joy and fruitful blessing as you serve the Lord of the harvest!

Warren W. Wiersbe

Whether you are a volunteer or a full-time Christian worker, I wish I could sit down and leisurely chat with you about your ministry. I obviously cant do that, so Im doing the next best thing and sharing my thinking with you in this book. Perhaps youre just getting started in your ministry, or you may be a veteran with battle scars. In either case, I trust that what I say will encourage you in the greatest work in the world, serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Serving God is a wonderful thing if we understand what it is and how God does it through us. Ministering for Jesus Christ can be as uplifting and exciting as hang gliding, or it can be as burdensome and boring as repeatedly rolling the same rock up the mountain as Sisyphus did in the Greek myth. No matter how difficult the work or how many times we feel like quitting, we can keep going and growing if we minister the way God tellsus to in His Word.

When I began my ministry back in 1950, Im afraid I didnt have a clear vision of what Christian work was all about. Consequently, I floundered and was frustrated, not knowing exactly what to do or how to evaluate what I was doing. A Roman proverb says, When the pilot does not know what port he is heading for, no wind is the right wind. I was certainly a bewildered pilot! Because I had received excellent training, I didnt lack for methods or ideas; but I wasnt clear as to principles. I was on the ocean of life with a road map instead of a compass, and I wasnt sure how to handle the rudder of the ship.

Now, many years and tears later, I think I have a limited grasp of a few of the principles of ministry; and I want to share them with you. As the familiar couplet puts it,

Methods are many, principles are few;
Methods always change, principles never do.

Certainly we need methods to serve God, but we must remember that methods work because of the principles behind them. To adopt a new method just because it worked for somebody else, without first understanding the principles behind that method, is to abandon both the compass and the rudder and start drifting helplessly on the tempestuous sea of service.

If youre frantically searching for guaranteed quick-fix methods, this book isnt for you because ministry is built on basicprinciples, not clever methods. God doesnt want us to have ministry by imitation. He wants ministry by incarnation, what Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:13: For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.